It’s tempting to keep your kids confined to the easy trails. So for this post I’m going to play my daughter’s favorite game – Devil’s Advocate!!

As a parent we want our kids to enjoy the things we love, we wish to share our joy with them, teach them our wisdom, create tradition – a family culture. Naturally we began getting the kids out in nature at a young age. I can still proudly recall when our daughter was three and she would easily complete 2 mile loops in our hilly neighborhood.

Neighborhood walks soon turned into traversing heavily-trafficked city parks and greenways. Not long after we sought out Charlotte’s great nature preserves for a taste of wild with an impact that’s mild.

And before you know it we’re marching the kids, single-file, down a steep and rocky trail that hugs the edge of a cliff only to end at the base of a waterfall.

Recently I have found myself questioning our trail-choices on a regular basis. The fear sets in. Will they get hurt? Will they get burnt out and not want to hike any more? Are we being irresponsible?

No. Stop it. We’re doing it right – and I hope that this post encourages you to step outside of your comfort zone a bit when choosing your next family adventure.

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.

Benjamin Franklin

It’s the Natural Progression

If you have young children and your goal is to show them the true beauty of mountain vistas, back country forests, and majestic waterfalls you need to keep upping your game.

This is where famBeta comes in. We aim to share our experiences and observations so that you can keep marching forward. But you can’t keep marching forward if you won’t progress beyond the city park. There are a few key skills we are looking to build in the kids on each of our hikes.

  • Stamina
  • Balance
  • Following Blazes
  • Ecological Knowledge
  • Technical Skills

Most of those items are self-explanatory and so I’ll leave them up there (but if you do have questions, our comments section is a safe-place). I would like to touch on Ecological Knowledge and Technical Skills.

For us, ecological knowledge is all about teaching our children about not only the specific wilderness we’re traveling in, but also about nature in general. To take it one step further we discuss how hikers and campers interact with nature. To me, this is safety. After a few trips the kids are no longer afraid of snakes, but they know to keep their distance. They know that trails typically follow ridges or moving water and that we don’t eat trail mushrooms. They’re learning about the rocks that dot the trails, the downed-trees, prescribed burns, and all the local flora and fauna.

As far as technical skills, this is mainly taught through instruction and observation. “Watch how Daddy goes over this rock…” “Put your foot right here..” “Stand up first, let your legs do the work..” “Slide on your bottom with your feet out in front of you..” “Wash your hands..”

The list of quotes could go on for ever. We are instructing our kids non stop out on the trail. Not in a preachy way, we’re not barking orders at them. What I’ve seen is that the learning curve is really short out on the trail. Once they learn the safest way to climb a rock or swing under a downed-tree, they don’t need much follow up instruction.

Here’s the kicker, they love learning this stuff. It’s adventure stuff. They’re climbing mountains and climbing mountains is cool, and you have their attention. As they learn they’ll be able to cover more distance, tackle more challenging trails, be less likely to get hurt and more likely to enjoy themselves.

It’s what they want

Here’s a fun experiment. Ask your child(ren) to draw a picture of hiking. Now ask them to draw a picture of nature.

Did they draw a picture comprised of a stick figure, a few trees, and a mountain or did they draw one of a paved loop completely devoid of shade? Did you get a picture of a beach with some palm trees and a volcano? Were there any waterfalls? What about cross-walks?

When you tell the kids “We’re going hiking on Saturday.” These are the images that are popping into their heads. You have to let them know that you trust them to listen, that you trust that they are “big and strong” enough to handle it. You have to do these things because it’s what they are expecting. So often life can be disappointing, especially if you’re a four year old with an over-active imagination.

If you give the little-ones an adventure they’re going to enjoy it more, they’re going to remember it better, and they’re going to learn from it.

Go where the good is

We live in Charlotte, North Carolina. We love Charlotte, North Carolina. If you haven’t been, Charlotte is a large and growing city that is very very green. There is a lot of tree canopy and it’s beautiful. Our little personal slice of suburbia is heavily wooded, so much so that we can barely see our neighbors – but we can still walk to public transport. But nowhere in Charlotte is there a view like those in Linville Gorge. None of the cascades in our neighborhood streams compare to Little Bradley.

Also, it gets super hot in Charlotte. Hot and humid. These are not ideal hiking conditions. So if we were to stick to city parks, we would get burnt out quickly. It’s just not as enjoyable.

For every 1,000 feet of elevation gain you are going to lose about 3-4 degrees in temperature. Charlotte sits at about 760′ of elevation. Heading up to the mountains in Western North Carolina and you’re easily adding 3,000-4,000 feet of elevation before you start your hike!

So that hot July day that was forecast for 90 degrees? If you get out early enough (which you should, we’ll cover that later as well) it should be in the high-50’s or low 60’s. By the time the city is baking under a heat lamp you’ll be in the upper 70s, fully shaded, dipping your toes in mountain streams.

While your mountain hike may be longer and more technical, maybe it won’t actually be more difficult. I can do a lot more work in 70 degree weather than 90 degree weather. I know my kids can too.

If we really put it all together taking the kids to a more challenging trail, something a bit outside your comfort zone may actually be more comfortable and if you plan it right (which is why you’re here) more rewarding as well.

You’ll see fewer people

Ok y’all, I’m an extrovert and quarantine is very tough. I get energy from being around people and typically I need a getaway into the wild to help quiet my city mind. With the current push for social distancing it was a no-brainer that we should get out into the wilderness for some R&R.

That being said, you and I are not the unique, nature-loving snowflakes we’d paint ourselves to be. There are lots of people escaping the city on the weekends to take in some nature, especially now. If you drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway (which you most certainly should do) you’ll find it challenging to locate parking at popular vistas. People are people, and we all want something different to do. We all crave adventure. We cannot be angry with the crowds, we just have to be smart and plan properly.

This is why I’m crafting a post to help you find your hike. Including what info you should consider when determining where to go. Not all of it is the published information, but again I’m going to save those nuggets for a future post.

But generally, if you are pushing your kids to do more challenging trails, to cover more distance, to learn and grow – you’ll more than likely be further out and see fewer people. Just get there early – the lazy and sick people get there just before noon.

It’s what you want to do

Be honest. Do you want to go and hang out at the park with all the latte sippers and flip-flop wearing “hikers?” No. They’re not even paying attention to their brats.

I live seven minutes away from McDowell Nature Preserve. It’s our happy place. Still, in the summer, I’m there only a couple of times. It’s too crowded, hot, and we’ve done all the trails.

I want new vistas, new experiences, something that makes me swallow hard and feel a little fear. You want to get out there, and you should. You just need to do your research and prep work first.

We’re here to help! Ask us anything!

Happy Hiking!

stay in the loop